Archived News Item
Hospital marks 75 years
July 28, 2006
Party time: Young patients (from left) Marcus Flook and Zhanae Allez with Mercy Sisters Marie Fitzgerald and Collette Anderson at the Mater Children’s Hospital’s 75th birthday celebrations.
The Mater Children’s Hospital at
The birthday celebrations included past and present patients sharing their Mater stories including Margaret Newson, who was hit by a bus at the age of 13 in 1956, and was brought to the Mater for treatment after sustaining serious injuries to her legs, arms and pelvis. Current patients were treated to a special birthday visit by the characters from Movie World.
“The Mater Children’s Hospital is still the only paediatric institution on
“During the last 75 years the Mater Children’s Hospital has become a leader in paediatric medicine and research, achieving many outstanding triumphs. We are very proud of what we have accomplished and look forward to providing innovative health care services to children and their families in the future.”
The celebrations marked an important day in the Mater’s History, when the Sisters of Mercy opened the first children’s public hospital south of the
It was a long held dream of Mother Patrick Potter, the founder of the
When the Mater Children’s Hospital officially opened in July 1931, its 80 beds were occupied immediately and in its first year of operation, the hospital admitted 1266 patients and saw more than 7000 outpatients. Since then, the hospital has continued to grow and in 2001 a new purpose-built Mater Children’s Hospital was opened. Today, the hospital cares for more than 130,000 children and their families each year.
Messages to: Elizabeth O’Keefe RSM, (Congregation Secretary)
Source: The Catholic Leader July 23, 2006